Anne of Brittany

Anne of Brittany (25 January 1477-9 January 1514) was Duchess of Brittany from 9 September 1488 to 9 January 1514, succeeding Francis II of Brittany and preceding Claude of France, and Queen consort of France from 6 December 1491 to 9 January 1514. Her marriage to Charles VIII of France led to the annexation of the Duchy of Brittany by the Kingdom of France. After her husband's accidental death in 1498, she remarried to King Charles.

Biography
Anne of Brittany was born in Nantes, Brittany on 25 January 1477, the daughter of Francis II of Brittany and Margaret of Foix. Her father was the last male of the House of Montfort, and she inherited the duchy, Nantes, Montfort, Limoges, and Richmond in 1488. The next year, she married Emperor Maximilian I of Germany, but King Charles VIII of France started a military campaign against Brittany, forcing her to renounce this marriage; a union between Habsburg Germany and Brittany would threaten the security of France. In 1491, Anne married King Charles instead, and they had several children, none of whom survived childhood. The marriage was mostly loveless, as Anne was angry that she was unable to choose her marriage. She fell in love with her husband's cousin, Louis d'Orleans, however, and she remarried to Louis after her husband's accidental death in 1498. She had her eldest daughter, Rene of France, be betrothed to the future Emperor Charles V, but she instead married Francis I of France. This marriage led to the formal union between France and Brittany. Anne died in 1514 at the age of 36, having become a hero for Breton nationalists due to her opposition to French rule.